History
Anything to do with History
Alexie
@Alexie -
over 4 years ago
On the Spot: Archie Brown
Why are you a historian of the Soviet Union? Because Leonard Schapiro put the idea in my head. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you? That even ‘unreformable’ systems can be reformed or dismantled from within. Which history book has had the greatest inf...continued
2 minutes read
Jaydon
@Jaydon -
about 5 years ago
Travels Through Time: Ruthlessness and Richard III
Edward IV fell ill over Easter 1483, dying on 9 April. His 12-year-old son, Prince Edward, now Edward V, looked set to succeed unchallenged to a stable kingdom. But within months, the new king was declared a bastard and deposed by his own uncle – Edward’s trusted brother,...continued
2 minutes read
Hannah
@Hannah -
about 5 years ago
Travels Through Time: The Crusades
Launched by Pope Urban II in 1095, the Crusades comprised a series of eight or nine major expeditions from western Europe to the Holy Land, continuing into the 15th century. In 1147, the Second Crusade began, with the ambition of repeating the 'success' of the First Crusa...continued
2 minutes read
Alexzander
@Alexzander -
almost 2 years ago
On the Spot: Rodric Braithwaite
The Dorset County Museum, photographed in 2017. Wiki Commons/Geni.Why are you a historian of Russia?My family had Russian associations: writing its history helps me understand the place.What’s the most important lesson history has taught you? Great leaders are much less i...continued
2 minutes read
Rahsaan
@Rahsaan -
over 4 years ago
On the Spot: Panikos Panayi
Why are you a historian of immigration? Because I am a (second generation) immigrant. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?That history seems to have little influence on many of our rulers. Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?E.H. C...continued
2 minutes read
Priscilla
@Priscilla -
over 5 years ago
Travels Through Time #14 – Commodore Perry’s Expedition to Japan, 1853
Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition to Japan in 1853 changed the course of the nation’s history. Long into the 19th century Japan had been regarded by a growing group of Western nations as a ‘hermit kingdom’, known for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. Prior to Perry...continued
2 minutes read
Kari
@Kari -
almost 5 years ago
Travels Through Time: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful women in medieval Europe. Queen of France for 15 years through her first marriage and queen of England by her second, Eleanor was the mother of kings Richard I and John of England. She was an heiress, a crusader, a prisone...continued
2 minutes read
Colin
@Colin -
over 2 years ago
On the Spot: Caroline Elkins
Why are you a historian of the British Empire?I’m interested in how the past shapes the world in which we’re living. The British Empire’s massive impact over time and space makes it a natural choice.What’s the most important lesson history has taught you? How rarely leade...continued
2 minutes read
Casper
@Casper -
about 5 years ago
On The Spot: Justin Marozzi
Why are you a historian of the Middle East?My father was born in Beirut – and the Middle East and Arab world became a part of my childhood. I’ve studied, worked and travelled there ever since. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?That we learn nothing f...continued
2 minutes read
Ericka
@Ericka -
over 1 year ago
On the Spot: Rosa Andújar
Statue of Salomé Ureña in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Wiki Commons/Phyrexian.Why are you a historian of ancient Greece?I went to university intending to study maths and physics, but was inspired to learn ancient Greek by a brilliant teacher.What’s the most importan...continued
2 minutes read
Rex
@Rex -
over 5 years ago
On The Spot: Helen Parr
Why are you a historian of contemporary Britain?Contemporary history seems more important than ever. It offers a counterweight to lazy political evocations of the past and to the instant histories enabled by the Internet.What’s the most important lesson history has taught...continued
2 minutes read
Elvie
@Elvie -
about 5 years ago
On the Spot: Roger Moorhouse
Why are you a historian of Central and Eastern Europe?The revolutions of 1989 spurred a fascination with Central Europe and with history as a living entity. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?That the permanent can be transient and the transient surpr...continued
2 minutes read
Delia
@Delia -
over 1 year ago
On the Spot: Richard J. Blackett
Martin Robison Delany, by an unidentified artist. Print published c. 1865. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.Why are you a historian of 19th-century America?Arriving in Pittsburgh, my interest was piqued by the life of Martin Delany, a leading intellectua...continued
2 minutes read
Americo
@Americo -
over 4 years ago
On the Spot: Catherine Fletcher
Why are you a historian of the Renaissance?I went on holiday to Florence and needed an excuse to go back. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?People are complicated. Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?Garrett Mattingly’s Renaissan...continued
2 minutes read
Immanuel
@Immanuel -
about 2 years ago
Death of a Master Forger
‘An inquiry into the genuineness of the manuscript corrections in Mr. J. Payne Collier’s annotated Shakspere, folio, 1632: and of certain Shaksperian documents likewise published by Mr. Collier’, by N.E.S.A. Hamilton, 1860. Special Collections, University of Delaware Libr...continued
2 minutes read
Roger
@Roger -
over 4 years ago
On the Spot: Philippe Sands
Why are you a historian of law and justice?To be a better teacher, advocate and writer. What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?Nothing is only ever what it seems. Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?Geoffrey Trease, This is Your Cen...continued
2 minutes read
Angus
@Angus -
almost 5 years ago
On the Spot: Sophie Hay
Why are you an archaeologist of the Roman period?As a child my parents took me to archaeological sites and I was endlessly fascinated.What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?That context is everything. Without it we cannot begin to understand the past thro...continued
2 minutes read
Arvid
@Arvid -
almost 4 years ago
70 Years of History Today
In its 70 years, History Today has moved with the times but has never lost sight of its guiding principle: to bring serious history to a wide audience. To celebrate our anniversary, we have published a special ebook featuring some of the best articles from our extensive a...continued
2 minutes read
Juliet
@Juliet -
over 2 years ago
Kali | History Today
Likeness of the goddess Kali, Nepal, unknown date. Bridgeman Images.With her lolling tongue, garland of decapitated heads and girdle of severed limbs, brandishing a bloodied sword in one of her four arms as she dances wildly on the prostrate body of her consort Shiva, the...continued
2 minutes read
Eleanora
@Eleanora -
almost 2 years ago
Chadō | History Today
A mizusashi jar created during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the Saga Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, 16-17th century © Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution/Gift of Charles Lang Freer/Bridgeman Images.Few things are more quintessentially Japanese than the traditional ...continued
2 minutes read
Sandrine
@Sandrine -
over 2 years ago
The End of the Templars
The emblem of the Knights Templar, from the Chronica Majora of Matthew Paris, 13th century. British Library Royal MS 14 C VII, fol 42v. Wiki Commons.Less than 25 years after the fall of Acre in May 1291 – the last, decisive defeat for the Crusader states – the Knights Tem...continued
2 minutes read
Colin
@Colin -
about 2 years ago
The Menorah | History Today
Representation of the Prophet Zachariah’s vision of a menorah between two olive trees, by Joseph Ha-Zarefati in the Cervera Bible, c.1300. Bridgeman Images.The seven-branched menorah, an instantly recognisable symbol of Judaism, is much older than the Star of David. It ha...continued
3 minutes read
Alexzander
@Alexzander -
about 5 years ago
Oedipus the King | History Today
Oedipus, King of Thebes, is supported by his daughter (and half-sister) Antigone, as they walk though the plague-ravaged city. Oedipus became ruler after defeating the Sphinx, a creature with the head of a woman, the body of a lioness and the wings of an eagle. It sat out...continued
3 minutes read
Abbie
@Abbie -
about 2 years ago
Tlāloc | History Today
Ceramic Tlāloc effigy vessel found at the Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan, Mexico, c.1440-70. Bridgeman Images.Tlāloc is a pan-Mesoamerican god of rain and earthly fertility. Principally recognised as a chief deity of the Aztec (or Mexica), earlier Zapotec and Mayan civilisati...continued
2 minutes read
Liliane
@Liliane -
about 1 year ago
Playwright Ben Jonson’s Duel to the Death
Pointy end: duelling techniques used by Elizabethan theatrical luminaries like Gabriel Spencer and Ben Jonson, illustrated in Vincentio Saviolo, his Practise, 1595. The Granger Collection/Alamy Stock Photo.The late 16th century was a precarious time to be in the theatre. ...continued
2 minutes read